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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29515749">Belonging</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_am_regret/pseuds/i_am_regret'>i_am_regret</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baby Draco, Babysitting, Fluff, Gen, Godparent Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy's A+ Parenting, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, snape is a grumpy uncle and Draco just wants attention</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:34:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,496</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29515749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_am_regret/pseuds/i_am_regret</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Severus Snape is in charge of babysitting little Draco Malfoy for the evening. </p>
<p>Just fluff and feels.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Belonging</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Well this snuck up on me out of nowhere and punched me in the feels, so I spent 4am last night writing this instead of studying. It’s a bit ooc and barely proofread - blame my sleep deprived brain.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Thank you again for helping us last minute, we promised Draco’s usual babysitter time off to make up for not paying her, but it seems we didn’t go over the schedules thoroughly. I know he can be a bit of a handful but he seems to behave well for you at any rate.” Lucius took his cane from it’s holder on the wall, with the other hand reaching out to Narcissa, who curled around his arm primly.</p>
<p>“It’s no trouble. I only intended to continue my research for the evening.” Snape switched the large, dusty tome he was holding to the other hand so that the young Malfoy heir, already wrapped around one of his legs, could grab onto his fingers eagerly.</p>
<p>“He adores you Sev. Would you be looking to adopt?” Narcissa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with the well-trained coo of a lifelong hostess.</p>
<p>“Salazar help us.” Lucius chuckled at his friend. “Still, we’re quite looking forward to an evening of freedom. I’ll owe you for this one my friend - oh if he doesn’t go to bed for you, have one of the house elves sing him his favorite lullaby...um, they know which one. Alright my dear, do you have everything?” Lucius exchanged cordial smiles with his wife, who grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. With a rustle of expensive robes, and a roar of magical flames, they were gone.</p>
<p>Snape sighed, looking down at the small blonde child who was trying to scale him like a tree. He always thought Draco’s eyes were too big and round, like he was observing everything at once, but something about being so rigorously trained to be well-mannered often set him off in a tantrum and Severus couldn’t say he blamed him. Thankfully he had no intention of making the boy sit quietly through dull visits with guests he didn’t know, or parade him around like a pedigree owl. Even better, he wasn’t his language teacher - the child didn’t talk much yet anyway - so to Snape this evening mainly consisted of curling up with his reading and making sure the Malfoy heir didn’t eat something poisonous or jump off a balcony.</p>
<p>The little thing was already tugging sharply at his robes and reaching up to be carried. Snape planted a hand on his wispy blonde head and extracted himself from the clutching hands. Draco giggled, hopping after him like a possessed bunny that clearly had too much energy to go to sleep in the next few hours.</p>
<p>“Yes I’ve missed you too.” Severus allowed, after an illogical glance around to make sure the room was empty.</p>
<p>Draco grabbed hold of his arm again, and in the effort of going anywhere without being tripped, Severus lifted his elbow until the boy was dangling off the ground and giggling hysterically over it. Lucius would say his son didn’t laugh much - was already growing to be haughty and serious like his father - but Severus could never seem to get him to be quiet.</p>
<p>Draco kicked his little legs like a flopping fish until Snape had set his book down on a weathered mahogany side table and sought gently to shake him off.</p>
<p>“Fire.” The kid grinned.</p>
<p>“No I’m not making fire for you. Down.” Severus pried each chubby finger off his arm as he sat gingerly on a rather showy and uncomfortable chaise.</p>
<p>The high ceilings of the Malfoy Manor sitting room sent shadows crawling across every surface, untouched by the licks of flame from the drafty fireplace.</p>
<p>Draco scampered off while Snape was inspecting an offensively large stuffed mongoose posed beside the window, but only moments later the pattering of his feet returned and Severus let out an “oof” as the air was punched out of him by a toddler sized projectile throwing itself into his lap.</p>
<p>Draco was babbling in excitement and shoving something in his face, which was rather hard to see what it <em>was</em> when it was being repeatedly smacked against him.</p>
<p>Severus muttered a few adult words before he was able to pin down the flailing limbs enough to see what he was holding. It seemed to be a slightly crumpled bird of some sort made out of thick creamy parchment paper.</p>
<p>“Oh. Do you want me to make it fly?” Draco nodded proudly, pleased that he understood, and pushed at his shoulders sharply with both hands.</p>
<p>“Alright - ow.” Merlin’s beard, Lucius should never have been allowed to reproduce. Snape uttered a simple spell and the wrinkled wings on the unfortunate creature fluttered. Draco cooed and watched with enrapt focus as it hefted itself into the air and flapped a few lopsided circles around the room before tipping sideways and crash landing in the fireplace.</p>
<p>Snape expected whining but instead Draco laughed perhaps a little too pointedly. “Fire.” The blonde wiggled off his lap - jabbing him several times with bony knees and elbows along the way - and trotted up to the grate on the fireplace to watch the dejected bird burning.</p>
<p>Snape was on his feet when those inquisitive small fingers reached toward the latch. “Nope.” Draco said “hup” as he was momentarily engulfed in dark robes and hoisted up around the middle by a strong grip.</p>
<p>Severus had just settled him on one hip when a nervous looking house elf appeared. “Master’s snack has been sent up to his bedroom sir.”</p>
<p>Draco heard “snack” and pointed commandingly toward the stairs and Severus rolled his eyes. “Wonderful. You need more energy.”</p>
<p>The elf poofed away and Snape took longer than he’d like to admit to tilt over and collect his heavy tome in one hand without dropping the equally heavy child in the other.</p>
<p>Draco leaned into his shoulder and fiddled gently with one of the many buttons on his robe while Snape made his way upstairs to the child’s bedroom. The room was hexagonal, and immaculately cleaned. Soft moonlight was streaming in through a large window on the opposite wall of the door. When they entered, the candles began to glow and crackle, and there was a quick glimpse of the house elf again before they vanished.</p>
<p>Snape set Draco down, who was now preoccupied with what looked like toast on the small table beside his bed, and sat in the comfiest chair nearby. It was wonderfully soft and cozy, with a high back and arms, and he allowed himself to simply luxuriate in the feeling for a minute before opening his eyes again to check on Draco.</p>
<p>The kid had nibbled a corner of his snack and was now absently smacking at the moving shadows on the wall, cast from the bare twisting branches outside the window.</p>
<p>“Are you not going to eat that?” Severus reached over and helped himself to a large bite of toast, which caused Draco to frown and yell “Nooo!” and grab it away from him. The older wizard couldn’t help but smile in amusement when Draco merely put it back on the plate but didn’t even have any for himself.</p>
<p>“I’ll take this then.” Snape picked up a stuffed frog from the table and Draco whined fussily again, swatting it out of his hands.</p>
<p>Oh yeah. This kid was going to be a total spoiled brat.</p>
<p>Snape just chuckled to himself and finally opened his book to the red and gold embroidered divider that rested where he had left off. He spent several minutes in silence reading through the spidery ink before realizing the quiet in the room. He glanced up cautiously.</p>
<p>Draco was standing in front of him, frog squeezed tightly to his chest and watery blue eyes fixed on him. With an air of suffering he grabbed the forgotten toast and held it out toward Severus.</p>
<p>Interesting.</p>
<p>Well it wouldn’t do to let it go to waste, so the older man accepted the offering from the child. He could detect a note of longing in the boy’s face and, after a pause and put upon sigh, Severus shifted so one leg was up on the chair and he motioned at Draco wordlessly.</p>
<p>The boy grinned and scaled the chair into the space he had made with his knees, using his long black-robed leg as a cradle to squirm into. Snape had to shift into a slightly more reclining pose until they both had enough space to get comfy, with Draco settling his head against his kidney.</p>
<p>Frog still squished to him, Draco looked up at him with moon round eyes and despite his best efforts, Severus felt what could have been a tug on his heart. Or the toast going down wrong.</p>
<p>“You read?” Draco insisted, and it was most definitely a command. Snape glanced down at the open book now teetered on the arm rest of the chair and shrugged. “Mandrake root powder...”</p>
<p>———</p>
<p>When Lucius came home, he found them both passed out in the chair with Snape’s arm curled protectively around Draco’s snoring body.</p>
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